Hex and the City: few have escaped the curse of the Maine Road boardroom

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“I PROMISE results, not promises,” John Bond said as he accepted the manager’s job at Manchester City in 1980. It was easy to understand his confusion. Little has made sense at Maine Road in modern times.

A bitter rift between Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison in 1971, only three seasons after they had led City to the title, set a precedent for making a sow’s ear from a silk purse. Mercer was shifted sideways and City plunged into mediocrity.

Meanwhile, Peter Swales, the late former chairman, was well on the way to vilification. When Allison returned as manager in 1979,